IT has been both a bugbear and a blessing.
The fact that Moyhu never received the credit it deserved for winning 17 matches during the regular season and finishing on top of the ladder was something that frustrated coach John McNamara, but also must have delighted him in some way, because it certainly gave the side plenty of motivation.
"That was one thing that I highlighted before the game," McNamara said.
"No one rates us, and even up until today we've had people saying we're soft and that sort of thing.
"Every side we've played has thrown everything at us and we've kept responding and kept winning you can't do much more than that."
One reason people questioned the Hoppers was because of their narrow wins over lesser sides, but it was that ability to get over the line in close matches that proved pivotal to Saturday's victory.
"It's something that's happened throughout the year," McNamara said.
"Against North Wang they were up but in the last few minutes we got it back.
"Against King Valley at Moyhu, they were up but we just found a way to win.
"It's just knowing how to win, and that's a trait that we have.
"Today it went down to a couple of points, but once again we got over the line."
McNamara paid credit to livewire forward Jeremy Wilson, who was the spark in attack early on and booted his 100th goal for the season early in the third term.
"He's had a great year," he said.
"He cops a fair bit and a lot of people think he is a wide receiver.
"But he keeps producing against the good sides, and to kick six in a grand final hopefully that might shut the critics up."
The match winning move was swinging ruckman Daniel McInness into attack during the final term a move McNamara had been waiting for the right time to use.
"We looked at doing it a bit earlier," he said.
"He was making a contest in the middle but one thing I wrote before I left this morning was to throw Dan into the forward line.
"It took me until three quarter time, but he got the job done once I put him up there, so that was great.
"They just didn't have a big defender to cover him.
"You've got to worry about Thommo, Jez and Dave Renton, and they just didn't have a match up for Dan.
"Sometimes these moves come off and sometimes they don't.
"You always have to have something up your sleeve."
The end result saw McNamara claim his first premiership since leading Wangaratta Rovers thirds to the flag in 2002.
"It's taken me a while to get a senior premiership, but it was worth the wait," he said.
"It's just such a great feeling and a terrific reward for a great bunch of players."
By - SCOTT ANDERSON.
19/09/2011
www.nenews.com.au
Last Modified on 19/09/2011 16:46